Print spooler failed to load a plug-in module (tsprint.dll)

Please Note:
Unlike many of the articles on this site, this article is written for “IT people” and relates to technical subject matter.
Only follow the below info if suitable to your specific situation and you understand and accept all risk.

If you encounter the following error after discovering a computer is unable to print via remote desktop server:

The print spooler failed to load a plug-in module C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\DRIVERS\x64\3\tsprint.dll, error code 0x7E.
See the event user data for context information.

and you are unable to find tsprint.dll located in “C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\DRIVERS\x64\3\”, it’s likely the easy print driver files have been deleted for some reason. These are used by the windows Remote Desktop Easy Print driver. You can locate information on it in the Print Management MMC, within the drivers section.

A simple and quick to test potential fix is to grab a copy of the following files from another computer and place them in the correct spot:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\DRIVERS\x64\3\tsprint.dll
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\DRIVERS\x64\3\tsprint-datafile
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\DRIVERS\x64\3\tsprint-pipelineconfig

They will only show up on a computer or system if that system has had printer redirection used on it.

A possible (and untested) alternative fix is to uninstall the driver from print management and restart your computer and see if it automatically reinstalls the next time printer redirection is attempted (on a successful remote desktop RDP logon). The files are not present but default in that location they they are likely added when used.

We encountered this specific issue on a Windows 10 (Version 2004) desktop that was being remotely accessed via RDP, via an RDP gateway. We were unable to find any cause for why the driver files had suddenly disappeared.